What Would a Nutritionist, a Doctor, and a Vegan Eat at a Party?

Eating healthy at social gatherings can be a challenge, especially when everyone you know is chugging down bottles of beer and getting second and third helpings of that deep fried mystery meat we're almost certain would lead to a heart attack.

"If we are going out to eat or are in a cafeteria and someone orders a cheeseburger and fries, we might be more tempted to want to choose what they're having," Avera/Hy-Vee Registered Dietitian Janine Albers tells Keloland.

But we’re nothing if not determined, so we found a way to minimize the temptation. We figured, out of the 50 or so people invited to this birthday, binyag, or kasal, there must be someone who’s more than a little health conscious—someone whom we can count on to make the right choices and hopefully influence us to follow suit. After all, if the people we hang out with could affect our eating habits, then we might as well choose to eat beside doctors, nutritionists, and vegetarians!

Curious to find out what they'd eat at a party? Read on!

1. NutritionistRachel Beller, dietician and author of Eat to Lose, Eat to Win, says she has a light afternoon snack, so she won’t show up hungry. In an article on Marie Claire, she writes, "I skip the starches. Tortilla chips add up quickly. But I eat as much crudités as I'd like. If there isn't any, I find enough cherry tomato garnish to improvise a salad. I might also help myself to four pieces of shrimp, no sauce. I limit myself to two tablespoons total of hummus, salsa, or guacamole."

2. Medical DoctorThonnie Rose See, MD., declares green tea as her beverage of choice, adding that she "would avoid high fructose" and "high alcohol content" drinks in general. While she doesn't say what she would eat, she does emphasize our bodies' need for essential amino acids and vitamins A, D, E, and K on a daily basis. Nuts, anyone?

3. VeganKhyne Palumar knows she can't always expect there to be vegan-friendly food at parties and gatherings so she tends to bring her own meals or eat before she leaves the house. In the event that the host is thoughtful enough, however, Khyne says she would probably go for the tofu, fries, plain salted chips, and nuts. "But I have a lot of options 'pag Indian and/or Middle Eastern 'yung food," she adds. A beer girl all the way, she even tells us an interesting fact about her favorite brew. "Most beer in the '50s, and I think meron pa din ngayon, filter their brew with (isinglass) fish bladder and gelatin (crushed animal bones). Pero San Miguel Beer is vegan kasi they use cloth filters."